RE: [Videolib] Wired for Retirement

Circulation at our library is consistently at 40% VHS/DVD/CD. I think
that these numbers at libraries across the country can be pumped up with
new releases. I have also noticed at the DVD has become so popular that
many customers will get in line and wait for a title to checkout on DVD
even if the same title is available and on the shelf in the VHS format.
Our hold lists on many titles is quite astounding. Many of the popular
titles can exceed 100+ holds on 10 circulating copies of a title.

An interesting nugget of information I heard a speaker mention at
Computers
in Libraries a few weeks is that 40-50% of public library circulation is
from their VHS/DVD/CD collections. That number struck me as remarkably
high. Can it possibly be accurate? If so, why have media librarians
especially in public libraries become expendable? Are these statistics
being pumped up with best-sellers and new releases? Has quality given
way
to quantity? Who guides video collection development in public libraries
without media specialists, the vendors?

Gary,
I share your concerns for the profession generally, at least public
libraries. A large chunk of current librarians started in the 70s and
will soon retire. With relentless state and local budget cutting and a
common (mis)perception that the Internet IS a library, I would not be
surprised if many retirees go unreplaced.

So, if we're all jumping ship in scant few years, who's gonna mind the
media store?

This could, indeed, be an interesting thread of discussion. Seriously.
It
seems to me that, despite the enormous impact media has had on global
culture at large, despite the fact that media collections in libraries
are
growing exponentially, the ranks of librarians trained for and assigned
to
selecting and managing media collections have, if anything, diminished
in
the last 30 years. (I go on about this at great lengths in the
introduction to Video Collection Development (Greenwood, 2002), so I
won't
belabor it here)/

The point is: many of us who came of professional age at the dawn of
the
video revolution in the late 1970s are now of an age where we're
pondering
the big R. I fret periodically about training for future media
librarians;
I fret even more about the tendency of libraries to feel that format
specialization among professionals is either not needed or not
affordable.

******

OK, on another tact. In skimming over the latest issue of American
Libraries yesterday, I noticed at least THREE articles having to do with

intellectual freedom challenges to videos or to broadcast programming.
I
would really like to see the Video Round Table consider getting more
involved with the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom as an advocacy
body. Seems to me that VRT could be doing a lot more to assert national

leadership in media matters. The Notables are one wonderful way that
we've
moved in this direction. I think VRT could be doing more.

Gary Handman

At 08:23 AM 4/6/2005 -0500, you wrote:>We have phased retirement by contract here at USF which I plan to do.
Anyone>else have phased retirement at their institutions?>>Jerry>>>_______________________________________________>Videolib mailing list>Videolib@library.berkeley.edu>http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/mailman/listinfo/videolib